“Major Carrington,” Keller said quietly, the respect in his voice unmistakable. She stopped, straightened instinctively despite the protest from her hip, and rendered a salute as clean as her injuries allowed. He returned it without hesitation.
Judge Whitmore cleared his throat. “Sir, this proceeding—”
“—has already become a proceeding of interest,” Keller interrupted, not loudly but with a firmness that left no room for misunderstanding. He approached the bench with measured steps, placing a leather folder on the clerk’s desk before speaking again. “I believe you’ve just ordered a recipient of the Navy Cross to remove her decoration as a condition of accessing this court.”
Whitmore bristled. “I enforce standards of decorum equally.”
“Equally,” Keller repeated, the word hanging in the air like a test, “would imply an understanding of what you’re addressing.”
The clerk, at Keller’s request, opened the folder and began reading the federal protections regarding military uniforms and decorations in civilian legal settings, her eyes widening slightly as she reached the section outlining consequences for interference. The judge’s composure flickered.
“I was unaware—”
“Unawareness,” Keller said, “is not a defense when the law is explicit.”
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